I looked at the calender and felt a small, satisfied, smile slip onto my face. I'd never been away from an HMH for more than two months. It had been six months since we'd arrived in Birdsong as of today.
Looking at the differences between this escape and my previous ones it wasn't any surprise that we'd made it this long when I'd never been able to make it more than two months previously. This time, I had wolves on my side, not only chasing me. Eros had sent a letter to his mom via a pigeon that Snapdragon made friends with. It had come back with a note from his mom saying that she would call off the search. Snapdragon had covered our path, so Falcon couldn't find us if he wanted to. Jambres didn't really have the resources to waste on us. So many factors were coming together to make this the best escape I'd ever pulled off.
I put a red mark over the date and crawled into bed.
Sleep claimed me quickly and I fell into dreams of soaring above the clouds.
I was dreaming of true freedom when I realized that there was something wrong in the real world. Rolling over, I tried to shake the feeling off. It didn't work.
Reluctantly, I pulled my eyes open and started looking around the room.
A pair of blue cat eyes blinked at me from the corner of the room. I wasn't surprised about it this time though. This seemed to be the style of the elves. Showing up randomly when their curiosity prompted them or when they just wanted to talk to someone. They seemed to be nocturnal by nature, so it was always at night. They didn't seem to think of houses as anything but shelter either.
"Hello Mingan," I said, sitting up in bed.
I could just see his outline bowing to me in greeting, "Rose."
"Why are you here?"
"I was hoping you would go on a walk with me," he said, motioning to the window.
A faint shiver went up my spine at the prospect. Snow was falling in a lazy manner past my window, and I knew that it was far below freezing out there. However, to refuse Mingan, would mean to turn my back on a supernatural creature that was as much the reason that we'd been able to stay here as anything else.
"May I bring my strong-arm?" I asked, having no intentions of going alone.
"Of course," Mingan said with another slight bow, "I would expect nothing less of the next king werewolf."
I nodded once in appreciation before standing up and walking to the door of my room.
"Please," I said as I grabbed the door knob, "make yourself comfortable. I'm not sure how light my strong-arm sleeps."
I couldn't see it, but I knew that Mingan bowed again as I opened the door and walked over to Eros' door.
Trying to be as quiet as I could I opened his door and slipped inside. Eros was on top of the covers in nothing but his boxers. Ignoring the slightly nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach I walked over to him and shook his shoulder gently.
He growled deep in his throat before grabbing me and maneuvering me until he was standing in a protective stance above me. I moved a little, trying to get out from under him. His growl got deeper and I stopped.
I considered my position for a minute. I was lying down in his bed, unable to get in front of him because he seemed to be having some kind of nightmare.
"Eros," I said softly, reaching up to put my hand on his bare back, "we have a visitor. You need to be awake to see our visitor."
He just growled more and got into a deeper stance in front of me. Poising, almost as if he were preparing to pounce on his invisible foe.
"Eros, there's no one there. It's just a bad dream," he seemed to relax a little bit so I continued, "It was just a dream, but you need to wake up now. We have a visitor."
At the word visitor his body went tense again and he continued to growl.
I sighed, doing this the nice way wasn't getting me anywhere. Other measure would have to be taken. I drew my hand back and slapped his butt as hard as I could from my awkward position.
He yelped and turned around. His eyes were finally open and he was looking at me in confusion. "What happened," he asked with uncertainty.
"Nothing," I replied, "You were just having a bad dream. Put some clothes on, we have a visitor who would like to go on a walk with us."
"Who?" he asked, his face immediately returning to the tense, protective look he'd been showing while he was asleep.
"Mingan," I replied.
He started to swear and look around for his pants.
I looked at him with mild confusion, "What's wrong with elves?"
He stopped and looked at me for a second, seeming to calm down immediately when he heard the question, "Elves are sneaky. They don't lie, but they will twist the truth and imply things like you wouldn't believe. Nothing that they do is out of the goodness of their heart. An elf can look at you and make suicide seem like the most logical option, even if you feel like life is going great for you... We're going to have to tread lightly; I think Mingan has come to collect on his favors," Eros said with a calmness that made his words seem that much more important.
"You make them sound like politicians," I mumbled while Eros went into the walk in closet to change.
He chuckled as he came out, "that's a good analogy but not quite right. Politicians can, and do, lie. Here, put this on," he threw an oversized jacket to me and waited for me to put it on.
When I was ready we walked back over to my room and opened the door. A frigid wave of air washed over me and I looked at my window, noticing that it was wide open from when Mingan came in.
"Ah," Mingan said as we walked in,"Hello again, Eros. How is your father?"
I looked at Eros in confusion and saw a flash of anger shoot across his face before he could school his features into a calm poker face.
"He is fine."
"And your mother, how is she doing without her only child?"
"She is also fine. Why do you ask?"
Mingan let a tiny devilish smile grace his features, "Just being polite... Shall we go?"
"Of course," I said, "I'm looking forward to my midnight walk in the middle of the winter," I continued with sarcasm, trying to break the tension.
"Don't worry Rose, I'm sure your strong-arm would be more than willing to keep you warm," Mingan said with that same devilish grin.
I looked between him and Eros, hoping to gain some insight about the current topic. Eros looked calm, his face was impassive with only the mildest signs of disdain in his purple eyes. Mingan wore a look of contemplation. Neither was helping me understand the conversation.
After a few minutes of silence I clapped my hands, "Anyways... shall we go?"
Mingan snapped out of his musing while Eros nodded quietly.
In an effort to avoid another awkward silence I walked over toward the window and looked down. I wasn't supernatural. Jumping from a second story window didn't seem like the best idea ever.
Without warning my knees were knocked out from under me and I was being held bridal style. Before I could catch a glimpse of whoever was carrying me, they were jumping out the window. I squeezed my eyes shut for the short fall. It was a weird landing for me. There was no jarring, no shock that went through the person carrying me, the wind just stopped. The landing was so graceful that it was imperceptible, except for the wind.
I opened my eyes to see Mingan setting me on my feet.
Before I could say anything I heard a soft thump behind me. I turned around to see Eros standing up from his crouched position. He was shaking, ever so slightly, having difficulties keeping his wolf in check. As soon as he was fully standing he strode over to me and scooped me up. After sniffing my hair and growling at Mingan for a solid minute, he seemed satisfied that I was not irreparably damaged. He shifted my weight so that he was only carrying me with one arm before putting my socks and shoes on for me.
"When was the last time you let your wolf out?" I asked with concern.
"Yesterday," he said in a gruff voice.
"I want you to start running daily."
He nodded once but the conversation didn't seem to satisfy his wolf. There was still a heavy scowl painted across his features.
I put my hand on his cheek and forced him to look me in the eyes, "That's starting now. I want you to go change out of the clothes you're wearing, because it's hard to replace them at the moment, and then let your wolf out."
Again he nodded, but this time it was more relaxed and I could see the tension draining from his features.
"Yes, Alpha Lady," he said, closing his eyes and stepping away from me.
Turning to look at Mingan, I saw him looking at me with a look of deep concentration.
"I'm sorry about that. I'm not sure where it came from."
"There is no reason for you to apologize. I understand that it happens with situations like this one."
I could feel a frown slipping onto my face. Situations like what? Before I could question him, I felt a soft bump against my leg and looked down to see Eros in his wolf form.
Absentmindedly, I dug my fingers into the fur on his head.
"So?" I asked looking at Mingan, "Where are we going?"
"I was thinking a stroll in the woods. Somewhere we can discuss certain matters of importance to the supernatural world."
"If we are going so far would you mind me riding my strong-arm? He won't mind and I want to get this over with."
"Of course," Mingan said with a tip of his head.
I swung my leg over Eros's back and worked my fingers into the fur on his neck.
"We're ready," I said.
"While we are still in town, and not at liberty to discuss matters of great importance, I would like to ask how you are enjoying the particular situation that we have provided you with. How are you and your companions enjoying the house and jobs?"
"They are serving their purpose. Besides security, the house is wonderful and none of my boys have complained about their jobs. Snapdragon is keeping up a good food garden as well as flowers and I am quite impressed with her ability to make the plants stay alive."
"What about you?" Mingan asked as he walked beside us with his arms behind his back.
"I'm fine. I find that I enjoy having my own pack, people that I feel the need to take care of. At the same time they feel the need to take care of me and they do that well without being overbearing."
"I have heard that the human mates houses are like that if you do not feel the need to run from them."
"It's not the same. I was their prisoner. Now, I am the leader."
"You enjoy being the leader?"
"Yeah."
"Have you found someone worthy of ruling by your side?" he asked with a curious tilt of his head.
I could feel a blush rising to my cheeks as I thought back to the past six months. How everyday Eros got flowers from Snapdragon's garden and gave them to me. The conversations about everything on our way to work. How he would convince me to go and do something fun with him every time we both had a day off. The way his laugh had started to make me smile. How he would defend me without making me seem weak. There could be something there.
"If you don't mind, I would rather not answer that particular question."
"Ah..." Mingan said, sending me a side long glance, "You are right. It would be inappropriate to speak of such things in front of one of your men."
"Thank you. What about you Mingan? How have you been?"
"I have been good. My king has made me the official ambassador to the werewolf world. Not something that I must engage in frequently, however, it is a great honor to have him give me such a title."
"You are not in front of anyone of your kind, do you have any romantic interests?"
"I do but that is a story for another time. We are at the edge of the woods and we have more important matters to discuss."
"Like what? What'd you bring me out here to talk about."
"I wished to speak to you regarding me and my kind's king."
"What about him?"
"He wishes to speak with you."
"Tonight?"
"Yes," Mingan said without any change in demeanor.
Eros, on the other hand, stopped dead in his tracks.
"I'm not sure..." I said, trailing off at the end.
"It's okay. He only wishes to make your acquaintances. He will not discuss politics on the first day that you meet."
"May I talk to my right arm for a minute?"
"You may," he said without moving.
"Alone? Or at least with a semblance of seclusion?"
"Of course, Rose," he replied, finally disappearing into the surrounding trees.
As soon as he was out of sight I slid off Eros and waited for him to change.
"What are you thinking?" I asked as soon as he was fully shifted and I could fully see the scowl that was dominating his usually kind features.
"Elves are tricky. That being said, I don't think we can deny this request. However, don't give them any information that they don't already know. I will do my best to leave the talking to you and if I interject, it's either extremely important, you need to stop talking or I'm simply trying to be polite. If you feel the need for my help, you're very good at asking with your eyes."
I nodded, "If I look confused at all, will you try to explain discreetly?"
"Of course, Alpha Lady."
I nodded again and started to wonder how this was going to go.
"Oh, and Rosie," Eros said lifting my chin up slowly so I was looking him in the eyes,"You're going to do magnificent. I know you will," as the last word slipped past his lips, in a mumble so deep it sent shivers, completely separate from the cold winter air, down my spine, he pecked my lips with his own.
A warm feeling filled the pit of my stomach and I could feel a smile slipping onto my face. It was just a light peck, not intrusive or dominate. Simply, a confidence booster, a reminder of support, perhaps a small show of devotion.
I turned around and found Eros in his wolf form already, laying in the snow waiting for me to climb back into my spot.
"Are you ready?" Mingan asked, stepping out from behind a tree with a small grin on his face.
"We are ready," I said, holding my head up high and digging my fingers into Eros's warm neck fur.
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A/N I may change this.